Abandon All Hope, Ye Who
by TheMorrign
Summary: "They're Jews. Poles and Gypsies." Aishe Ricci is proud of her Romani heritage and isn't about to back down when her country needs her all because one obnoxious Jew doesn't like it. Especially after finding they have a lot more in common than they'd like. LiebgottxOC *title subject to change*
1. Chapter 1

**To be very, very clear, this story is written with the utmost respect to the actual men portrayed in Band of Brothers. To maintain both this and my own personal rule of never writing stories about real people, this is entirely based on the show and not the men themselves, the same way I would write fanfic about any other show. If it isn't mentioned in the show, I may make up details about people or events and I'm sorry in advance if this offends anyone. But, honestly, this is FanFiction and you should honestly be expecting this. This is a heads-up and I will not be apologizing again. If you're still with me, go ahead and enjoy the first chapter. I hope you like it, I tried my best.**

* * *

 **April, 1945, Germany**

 **Aishe's PoV:**

 _Gebt jede Hoffnung auch die..._

 _Abandon all hope, ye who._ That was all it said. The rest had been scraped away by boots and artillery, smudged into nonexistence by jeep tires and dragged corpses. But, it was enough. Enough for anyone to recognize what the words were and what they meant. My knees throbbed from when I had collapsed onto them to the hard earth, but I couldn't bring myself to care or even stand back up. _  
_

I don't know how long I spent staring at those words scratched into the dirt, but it was too long. I couldn't find it in myself to pull away. What was this place? How could someone do this to other human beings?

"Will you ask them... Will you ask them what kind of camp this is? What, uh, why are they here?" I heard Winters ask from nearby behind me, followed by Liebgott's familiar voice speaking clear German. Usually hearing him speak the language I'd learned as a child was comforting, but there was nothing to do about the coldness that was growing in my soul and I sat there in the dirt.

" _Was ist das hier?_ " I heard him ask, presumably to one of the prisoners, as I slowly traced by fingers over the words carved into the mud. The response the prisoner gave was small, rushed, and not loud enough for me to hear, but Lieb's translation for the officers seemed almost too loud.

"He says it's a work camp for... _unerwuenschter_. I'm not sure what the word means. Unwanted, disliked, maybe?" He said uncertainly.

"Undesirables," I mumbled.

"What was that, Ricci?" I heard Winters ask.

"Undesirables. That's what _unerwuenschter_ means," I said, trying to speak up. I only succeeded for a moment before my voice broke.

"Like criminals?" Nixon asked, but I shook my head slowly, not looking away from the words, as Liebgott replied, "I don't think criminals, sir," before asking the prisoner, who immediately replied in the negative.

"No." Liebgott confirmed. "Doctors, musicians, tailors, clerks, farmers, intellectuals. I mean, normal people." He rattled off, translating the stuttering man. Finally, I was able to make out what the prisoner was mumbling, and I didn't like it one bit.

" _Juden. Juden. Juden._ " He just kept repeating that word. I would have stood up and made sure that Lieb was okay after finding out this information, but I was still enraptured by the letters in the dirt and I didn't have the strength in me.

"They're Jews," Lieb choked out, only for the man to continue. "Poles and Gypsies." That last word. That was it. My vision clouded red. My head snapped up and I snatched my rifle off the ground, standing up so forcefully that my helmet slid off and hit the ground, releasing my hair from where I'd crammed it in in my rush earlier. One of the nearby prisoners caught sight of the gold beads I had woven into my matted hair and began to cry, rushing over and wrapping his arms around me. I stiffened, worried, before the words pouring out of his mouth finally clicked and my anger drained away to be once again replaced by cold despair.

" _Rosie, my poor Rosie. They took my daughter away. They cut off her beautiful beads. You look just like her."_ He sobbed into my chest, Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him, patting his back lightly, horrified to find that I could feel each of his individual vertebrae and ribs.

Looking up, I saw Lieb quietly translating what the man was saying to Winters and Nixon as all three of them looked at me with wide eyes. For a moment, I thought Winters was going to say something about the beads, which were completely against regulation and not allowed but a needed sense of comfort to me, but he didn't seem to care. The small group just looked at me, almost sympathetically, or maybe with pity. Lieb was proud of his Jewish heritage, everyone knew that. But Roma didn't just run through my blood, it was in my soul. The only thing I was more proud of was the hot Italian blood I'd gotten from my papa.

Suddenly, the man Lieb had been talking to before spoke up again, even faster than before.

" _Wie bitte? Was sagen sie?_ " Liebgott asked the man, but I knew exactly what the man had said. Gently, I pulled away from the man who had clinging to me and scooped my helmet off of the ground before marching straight towards the entrance of the camp.

"Liebgott?" I heard Winters ask.

"The women's camp is at the next railroad stop." I heard Lieb tell him, but I was already on a warpath for that camp.

* * *

 **March, 1942, San Francisco**

The bus station was always buzzing with activity, but now it was full of prospective young men getting ready to go off to wherever they'd be going through basic training. And me. Without any hesitation and the practiced ease of having lived in a big city all my life, I elbowed my way through the crowd to my bus and climbed aboard. I flashed my papers to the driver and moved to take a seat near the front before he could ask any questions, dropping my bag on the seat beside me in hopes it would provide a barrier between myself and any prospective future soldiers.

I wasn't the first one aboard, but the skinny kid who had arrived before me sat in the far back behind me and I didn't bother giving him a second glance.

 **Joe's PoV:**

The hell is a broad doing on the bus? Especially one like that. She wasn't facing me anymore, but I'd gotten a clear look at the gold ring hanging from her nose and heavy earrings that matched the gold beads I could see braided into her hair. This gypsy couldn't have been a nurse, could she? No, if she was she'd be on a different bus. What the hell?

I frowned at the back of her head as I watched her begin to move her fingers through her hair, gliding over the small gold beads, one by one, in her ratty black hair, slowly like she was grounding herself. My sister did that with the buttons on her dress when she as nervous. As she turned her head to reach for one of the braids farther back, I caught another glimpse of her face and the small gold ring she had through the . A part of me was a little disappointed. The little piece of metal was actually really pretty on her, although it was kinda weird.

I watched her fiddle with a tangle in her hair for a moment before looking back out the window of the bus, discreetly double-checking that I knew where my wallet was. I've been around the block enough to know a gypsy'll rob you six ways to Sunday if you weren't careful.

The bus ride to the train station was painfully boring, but thankfully not that long. When we parked, I tried to catch another glimpse of the gypsy girl, but she was off the bus in a flash and disappeared into the crowd. Oh well. Hopefully that would be the last I saw of her. Don't know a time when a gypsy wasn't bad news.

I eventually shuffled my way off the bus and figured out which train to get on to get to Georgia since that's where the draft office had told me my basic training would start and where all my things had already been sent. Hopefully this overnight train ride wasn't gonna feel as long as it actually was. 32 hours, Jesus Christ. Couldn't the paratrooper camp be somewhere closer?

 **Aishe's PoV:**

32 hours, Jesus Christ. For fifty lousy extra dollars this was a haul. Especially with the way everyone sees to look at me and immediately check to make sure they still had their wallet. I'm not my damn cousin Ferka. Okay, I might help with my mom's fortune telling and other scams, but petty theft was stupid and not worth the time in the clink. I liked to stick to my tarot cards and palm readings. They might not be real magic like we sold them to be, but the cards gave advice that could be used in any situation, just like other forms of future predictions. Keep it vague and anything you say could be applied to anything. And, all kinds of readings were really only observing details about people and making educated guesses. It was less lying and more false advertising to people who payed to be fooled. No one really believes in Romani magic. Except maybe my little sister, but she already knows how to read people, so she's half way there.

But the fact that no one trusted me actually hurt a little. It happened all the time, but that didn't mean it didn't sting. I managed to find my designated bunk without any scuffle and threw my bag up into the bunk I would be crammed in for the trip. The majority of my things had already been sent to Camp Toccoa, but I had with me a few things I wanted to keep on me, including my tarot deck and a short note from my family wishing me luck. I also had a small drawstring bag, about the size of my palm, which I took out after situating myself on my bunk. Delicately, I removed the small gold nose ring I'd worn ever since I could remember and put it in the bag. It felt strange without it, and the empty feeling drove me to keep my hair woven with beads at least until I was further along in the trip. I knew I would have to remove them by the time we arrives in Georgia, but I didn't think I would be able to deal with the absence of everything that reminded me of home all at once. I was already dressed in the clothes I had been given at the draft office. A plain white t-shirt and a pair of olive drab pants that barely fit to replace the colorful blouses and skirts my mama would sew for me. It took me two months and an appeal to General Patton himself, but eventually I was given permission to join the US Army. Of course, they saw it as an opportunity to see if integrating women into the armed forces would work well or not, but they also made it difficult for me. I was assigned to the newly introduced Airborne Infantry and told that I would either succeed and be a hero to my country or drop out and be sent to prison for twelve years or until the war ends, whichever is longer. Lovely, right? Men who drop out just get sent to regular infantry. Me? I get a cozy little concrete cell.

I slipped my family ring off my finger and put it in the bag before drawing it closed tightly and tying it securely. I put the small bag back in my duffel and dragged my hand up and down my forearms. I didn't like the light feeling of my heavy bracelets being missing. I felt like my hands moved too quickly without the familiar weight of the gold bangles, and the absence of their loud, obnoxious jingling left me anxious.

Serving my country was important. I knew I would never make it as a nurse and giving up the comforts of home was completely worth it in my mind, but that didn't mean I had to like it. I took a deep breath and reached up to pull my father's gold cross necklace out from my shirt. I was allowed to keep that, thank god. I clenched my hands around it tightly and pressed them to my forehead as I squeezed my eyes shut and mumbled a prayer my grandmother had taught me as a child. When I finished, I kissed my knuckles and pried my fingers away from the small golden trinket, letting it fall on its long chain to hit my stomach. I had a long journey ahead of me that wasn't ending when I got off this train.

The train lurched to a start, sending me back to hit my head against the window. I groaned but shook it off, going back to digging through my bag. I had two books to read to occupy myself, a gift from my older brother Davide, but I set those aside for later. First, I had to scribble down something in my journal about the beginning of my journey like I'd promised my kid sister Teresa I would. She wanted to know everything. She seemed more excited about me joining the army than I was.

Looking out the window at San Francisco fading in the distance, I quickly began to sketch the receding skyline with my charcoal pencil. I've never been very eloquent, so Teresa and I eventually came to the compromise that I could draw instead - which I was much better at - as long as I wrote something short to explain the drawing and tell her anything she wanted to know when I came back.

I managed to keep myself occupied with the sketch for a good thirty minutes, long after the actual view of the city had vanished, before I finally decided I was satisfied with it. I scrawled a quick two sentences about it being the view from the train window before tucking the leather journal and pencil away safely in my bag. Then, tugging my tangle of dark hair back into a braid, I looked over at the two books my brother had given me. I couldn't help but grin widely when I realized that one of them had been from Davide, but the other was obviously from Nicolai, my second older brother. Davide was the mature one who was studying to be a doctor at Yale with a full scholarship, so obviously the thick copy of _The Divine Comedy_ was from him. He was always trying to give me complicated things like that because he knew I loved working them out like puzzles. Nicolai is much less mature. He's been in and out of the holding cells at the police station so many times that he knows all the officers by name and practically has his own cell, but its never for anything awful. Usually just bar fights about our heritage or getting caught conning some poor sap on the street. He had a sense of humor and always hated taking things seriously, much to my papa's chagrin, but he also had the passion for literature Mama has that I never inherited, and he was always trying to get me to see it. The copy of _The Case of Charles Dexter Ward_ was obviously from him. He'd been trying to get me to read it for months and he'd obviously found the opportune moment to force it on me. When I'll be on a train for 32 hours with nothing better to do. That fucker.

I laughed to myself a little before sighing quietly and picking up the book. I rubbed my thumb over the wrinkled cover. This was his personal copy. God, I already missed him. All of them, really. Mama and Papa, Davide and Nicolai, all the little shits I called my younger siblings, my cousins, my aunt, _Oma_ and _Opa_. It had only been maybe two hours since I'd left them and I missed them. This is gonna be hell.

Pushing that from my mind, I situated myself on the bunk and opened the Lovecraft story to the first page. With any luck, this train ride wasn't going to feel as long as it really was.


	2. Chapter 2

**There is a use of Tarot Cards in this chapter and in subsequent chapters as well, so card interpretation will be included at the end, regardless of whether or not they are explained in the text.**

 **Also, just a heads-up, I'm totally grounded. My grades in math are slipping so I won't be able to post until they're back up. Technically, I shouldn't even be posting now. But, I promised a chapter by Friday. Unfortunately, there won't be any chapters for a while, but for ever Saturday I miss I swear I'll post a chapter as soon as I get back.**

* * *

The train ride was relatively uneventful. The two highlights were that I finished the H.P. Lovecraft book and I narrowly avoided punching a man in front of a small child. I thought the story was very interesting, I could really see why Nicolai loved it so much, but I'll admit that I accidentally fell asleep right in the middle. I'd stayed up all of last night with my younger siblings since they were heartbroken I would be leaving so I was exhausted beyond belief.

I guess the unfortunate instance with the man in the diner car could be considered eventful, but not really out of the ordinary for me. People don't tend to like me, or gypsies in general. He was giving me some bullshit about being trash, and the only reason I didn't lay him out like my brothers had taught me was because his young daughter and wife were sitting with him. They didn't seem to agree with his views, but there was nothing he could do so I just took my food and went back to my bunk without a word. That little girl didn't need to see me whale on her father. Or, more realistically, see him hit a woman, cause I might have a mean right hook but he was a big fucker.

About an hour before the train was scheduled to arrive at the station, I began to slowly weave the golden beads out of my hair. I felt like every bead that I removed took me farther away from my home, but I took my aunt's advice to harden my heart and continued until I had finished and could not find any more of the gold pieces in my tangled hair. I would have to find a hairbrush soon, but for now I settled for pulling it back tightly.

Out the window, I still couldn't see the station, just a bunch of open fields and a mountain looming in the distance, so I sat back on my bunk, cross-legged, and took a moment to thank god that I'd managed to get a single cabin before pulling out my tarot cards and shuffling them on the mattress. I was willing to leave a lot of things behind for the 101st, but my tarot cards and lucky stones were not among them. Real magic or not, they were a sense of comfort that I could put my faith into. Whether they really worked made no difference to me.

Once I was satisfied with the shuffle, I began to lay out the cards in a basic planetary pattern, channeling a single question. _What will Camp Toccoa and its 101st Airborne bring me?_ I took a deep breath as I put the leftover cards to the side,closing my eyes for a moment before turning over the cards in order. Most of what I saw was no surprise. My Significator, the Queen of Swords, sat at the top where I'd placed it. The second card, signifying the moon and home, was the Three of Swords upright. That was saddening to see, but also relieving that something that hit the nail on the head came so early in the reading. Sometimes, entire readings were just garbage, but hopefully this would give me insight. The third card, Mercury meaning my business and integrity, was the Nine of Pentacles inverted. Whether that meant I would become overly invested in my training as a paratrooper or the family business was about to meet financial setbacks, I wasn't sure, but I'd have to send a letter to papa. He took mama and my tarot cards very seriously. Venus was strange. At the fourth card, love, I found the Chariot inverted. I couldn't see how uncontrolled aggression could be my future love life, but it was possible that it was the Significator of a person I was about to encounter, or, more likely and more desirably, the cards were just wrong this time. The Emperor inverted was my fifth card, Mars, my conflict and the source of upcoming opposition, probably meaning the rigidity of the United States Military would rub me the wrong way. No surprises there. The Wheel of Fortune upright as my financial future, obviously the $100 dollars I would be getting a month for being a paratrooper if I could hack it. The Ten of Wands upright revealed itself as Jupiter, my intellect. Hopefully I wasn't taking on too much with this army business, but the card seemed to tell me it would be worth it. Then, the final card was my question outcome. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that they were just cards, that I had control of my life no matter what they said, and flipped over the card. The Two of Cups inverted. Fuck.

I shook myself off and quickly put the cards away, trying not to dwell on what the cards had told me. They were only cards. I just kept repeating that until I had almost convinced myself as I looked out the window to see if we were arriving at the station. I couldn't see it down the tracks, and the wrist watch my cousin Ferka had "acquired" for me said we were still a good twenty minutes away from our scheduled destination time, so I stood up in the small cabin and pulled down the shade over the window. I'd planned on waiting to arrive at the base for this, but I might as well do it now. When I was sure no one would be able to see into my cabin, I pulled off my shirt and took out the roll of bandages Cousin Ari had given me from my bag. She'd walked me through how to bind my chest with "only a small risk of permanent rib damage," which was probably poor phrasing on her part, but it needed to be done. I wasn't large-chested, by any means, but I knew I would have to press myself almost flat for this. If not only for the physical training, then to stave off the attention of the men I knew would look for any reason to harass me and get me thrown out. This is gonna be a helluva ride.

When the train finally arrived at the station, I grabbed my bag and stepped off onto the platform as quickly as I could, hoping to be the first person on the bus to the camp. I was successful except for one man and sat myself down directly behind the driver. Only ten or so men climbed onto the bus before we departed, and each gave me a strange look before walking to sit further back with the others. I ignored them as best I could and was off the bus the second the doors were open. It's best I try to stay out of trouble as much as possible. I was off the bus for maybe thirty seconds before I was stopped.

"Miss Ricci? Aishe Ricci?" A voice asked to my left. I looked over from staring and rubbing at the place on my arm that was bare of jewelry for the first time in years to see a young officer coming towards me. At least, I thought he was an officer. That's what papa said the bars on the shirt collar meant. I'd say a lieutenant, but I wasn't confident.

"That's me, although I hardly think there'a another woman here you could mistake me for. You are?" I asked him, accepting his offered handshake with a strained smile.

"2nd Lieutenant Coppola. I'm here to take you to Colonel Sink's office." He said, giving me a small smile that reached his young eyes with ease. I nodded and he motioned for me towards the jeep he'd jumped out of to catch my attention. I held my bag tightly as I climbed into the passenger side and he started the engine, roaring off quickly. I couldn't help but smile a little when a small group of men just barely jumped out of his path in time, swearing at him as we drove away and he grinned. He looked over at me quickly and I gave him another small smile before he turned back to watch the path.

Colonel Sink's office wasn't too far from the buses, so it only took a few minutes to arrive. Lieutenant Coppola quickly ushered me inside and to the large wooden door with Colonel Sink's name on it in a large plaque. He knocked as I stood behind him, clutching my carpetbag in front of me tightly, hoping my white knuckles wouldn't give away my nerves. A harsh voice called from inside, "Come in!"

The Lieutenant opened the door quickly and poked is head in to address the man I couldn't see.

"Aishe Ricci is here, sir. You asked me to bring her to you when she arrived, sir?" He asked stiffly. There was a grunt of approval and what I could only assume was some kind of gesture, because Lieutenant Coppola then backed up and turned to me with a reassuring smile.

"You can go in. Good luck." He said before vanishing down the hall. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the heavy door and walked in, closing it behind me a little louder than I would have liked. Colonel Sink looked up from his paperwork to give me a once-over and a tight smile. He was an older man with graying hair and a thin mustache obviously trimmed to meet military regulations. His scowl seemed to persist even as he attempted to smile, but it wasn't as off-putting as I thought it would be. He seemed kind of like a grumpy grandfather more than anything, but that didn't stop me from standing stiffly in front of his desk after dropping my bag at my feet.

"So you're our new G.I. Jane, huh?' He asked, leaning forward in his chair to brace his arms on his shiny desk. I nodded once.

"Yes sir." I said, focusing everything on keeping my fingers from twitching. I couldn't afford to screw any part of this up, and the nerves made me ache for a distraction. Usually I would fiddle with my bracelets or roll my rose quartz between my hands, but I had neither here.

"At ease, kid. You ain't a soldier yet." He said, looking back down at his papers and finishing whatever he had been writing. I frowned, a little confused, but didn't move. He looked back up at me and waved me back. "Well go on. There's a chair over there for a reason. Take a load off. If it makes you feel any better, I intend to make sure you succeed here as a paratrooper," h said. I nodded a little before picking up my bag and bringing it with me as I moved to sit in the chair slightly behind me. I sat down slowly, looking at him carefully. Not many higher-ups in the military were very fond of the idea of me coming in, so I was expecting a much less welcoming response. I was expecting this to be some kind of test.

"Alright, Ricci. I've looked through your file and everything seems to check out. No criminal history, good school record, work history. No college, but I don't blame you for that. How old are you again?" He asked, flipping through what I assumed was my file.

"24, sir," I replied, sitting stiffly with my hands clasped tightly in my lap. He nodded slowly as he continued to read.

"Your brother is going out to be a surgeon in England, correct?" He asked. I swallowed thickly but forced myself to nod.

"Yes, sir. It's been agreed that Davide will join as a surgeon as soon as he finishes his semester. He'd more use to them once he's finished with his classes," I said, clenching my hands even tighter to ground myself. Davide would be going off to England soon, it was only a matter of time before Nicolai's long list of misdemeanors wouldn't be enough to keep him out of the draft office. Amalia was already working as a nurse at the local recruitment center, and if the war kept up, Teresa and Luca would be old enough to join soon. Papa's lasting handicap from the Great War was the only thing keeping him home with Mama and Aunt Selena. With such a big family, we were risking and losing so many people.

"That's good. We need as many young men as we can get. If not a soldiers, then as medics and surgeons. He'll be doing good work, just like you will, if you make it through," he said. I frowned a little at the way he phrased that, but tried to wipe my face clear when he looked up at me. Apparently it didn't work. "I have the utmost faith that you'll succeed, Ricci. You got the brains, you obviously have the spirit if you've made it this far, and I don't doubt you've got the strength in you. And even if you don't got the strength, you'll get there," He said firmly, as if he really believed it. It felt good to know someone so high up had faith in me and supported me, but I knew that wouldn't make my experience any easier. He stood up and walked around to stand in front of me, leaning against the large oak desk.

"I've personally assigned you to E Company, Second Battalion of the 506th. You'll report to Barrack 13 as soon as you leave here, the Lieutenant will show you the way. 1st Lieutenant Sobel will be your commanding officer. He's been instructed to treat you no differently than the men, and I know he's a man to take that very seriously." Oh great. That probably means he doesn't want me here, Strongly. "Now, it's very important that you come to me if you believe you are being treated unfairly because you're a woman. Only because you're a woman, mind you. As your CO, he is allowed to say a lot of things and single out men as he chooses if he believes it will help them become better soldiers. You are not excluded from this, but he is not to do this to you solely because of your gender. He's a man who'll ride you hard, so only come to me if it becomes about you being female. Ya get me?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yes, sir. Expect him to be on my case about everything but don't allow anything about gender," I summarized and he nodded.

"Exactly. Alright, Lieutenant Coppola should be outside waiting for you. Remember that as soon as you get to your barracks, you're a Private. Dismissed, Ricci," he said with a smile and I stood up with my bag in hand.

"Yes, sir. I won't let you down, sir," I said, shaking his hand firmly.

"I have faith in you. And, off the record, fifty dollars riding on your success," He said, winking at me. I couldn't help but crack a small smile and nod.

"Yes, sir." I said, nodding again.

"Alright. Now get," He said, waving me off as he went back to sit behind his desk. I quickly ducked out of his office, holding my bag less tightly than before, but still jittery from nerves.

I found Coppola outside, waiting beside the jeep with another man.

"Got your barrack designation?" He asked me as I came up, the other man quickly making his exit.

"13. Easy Company, 2nd battalion, 506th." I told him and he nodded.

"Alrighty then. Let's get this show on the road, doll." He said, jumping into the drivers seat.

"Don't call me doll, Lieutenant." I said firmly, my smile dropping off my face. If I was gonna be here as a soldier, I was going to be treated like one, dammit. He looked over at me, a little surprised, but nodded after a second.

"Alright, Ricci. Whatever you say," he relented as I climbed into the passenger seat. As soon as we were off, I was immediately consumed with the thoughts that maybe the men in E Company wouldn't want me there. My mind went back to the Emperor card that had come up in my tarot and I worried whether or not this Lieutenant Sobel was going to be the authority issue it had predicted. For a moment, my thoughts lingered on the Chariot and the inverted Two of Cups that had also made their appearance, but shook them away and focused on steadying my breathing. I would be able to handle anything these men threw at me. Such were the benefits of growing up with two older brothers and more than ten male cousins, in a neighborhood surrounded by people who hated you for the heritage of your grandparents.

* * *

 **Significator Card** **\- A Significator Card is a card chosen form the deck to represent a specific person, usually the questioner. They are usually the King, Queen, Page, or Knight of a suit, but can also be Major Arcana or other card, and are usually chosen based on the attributes of the person, such as age, gender, appearance, and zodiac sign.**

 **Queen of Swords** **\- As a significator card, the Queen of Swords indicates a woman 18 or older who is highly independent and a quick thinker. Someone who is organized and perceptive, but can be cold-hearted and bitchy if angered or irritated. As a card in general, it implies strong feminine energy, clarity of mind, and the strength to make the right decision, when upright. Inverted, it can mean emotionally-clouded judgment or a person ignoring their emotions to become narrow-minded and cold.**

 **Three of Swords upright** **\- Upright, the Three of Swords represents a painful separation and heartbreak. It means strong grief and, in certain situations, the pain of rejection.**

 **Nine of Pentacles inverted** **\- Inverted, the Nine of Pentacles means financial setbacks or that a person is or will become over-invested in their work.**

 **The Chariot inverted** **\- Inverted, the Chariot represents lack of control and direction in a situation or in life in general. It can also mean that you are beginning to collapse under pressure and losing control, and that you feel a strong aggression because of it. As a significator card, it indicates a person with a strong sense of determination and a need for control. Someone with a strong will who will do almost anything to win or get the last word.**

 **The Emperor inverted** **\- Inverted, the Emperor indicates there is a possible imbalance of power or even an abuse of power. Whether it means a person or a structure in general, there is a strong sense of being controlled in a way that is very rigid and unwavering. It may make a person feel powerless and with no control, and can indicate a current or upcoming struggle with an established and rigid hierarchy.**

 **Wheel of Fortune upright** **\- Upright, the Wheel of Fortune indicates good luck or karma. It indicates that life is cyclical and a new cycle may be beginning. A cycle that will turn out in your favor. You should go out and find your destiny, because luck is on your side and you are approaching a turning point that will lead to good things.**

 **Ten of Wands upright** **\- Upright, the Ten of Wands represents hard work, stress, and burden, but also achievement. You have or will achieve a goal, but achieving it has or will lead to heavy burdens of responsibility.**

 **Two of Cups inverted** **\- The Two of Cups is the Minor Arcana pair to the Lovers card. It indicates relationships and love, but inverted it can mean a lack of harmony among two or more people. It can mean a struggle to form new relationships or that old ones are crumbling. Reversed, its original meaning of love and unity is changed to one of disjointedness and an imbalance of power.**


	3. Chapter 3

**So apparently I wasn't grounded as long as I thought I was going to be. Hurray.**

 **I just wanna say real quick that there might be a lot of flux with the details since this story is technically in the writing process and hasn't had any chance of being polished off or edited. To be honest, I'm still half at the drawing board. Bear with me and I promise I'll try to make it worth it. I haven't changed anything yet, but I'll tell you if and when I do.**

* * *

"This is our stop. The barrack paths aren't made for jeeps, so I'll have to walk you from here." Lieutenant Coppola said as he parked the jeep in front of a long row of identical buildings. I nodded and jumped out of the vehicle, ignoring the looks I was beginning to get as I walked beside the lieutenant.

"Want me to take your bag, Ricci?" He asked after a few seconds, but I shook my head.

"No thank you, Lieutenant. I can manage." I said, giving him a tight smile.

"You can call me Steven, if you want." He offered with a bright grin.

"I don't think that would be appropriate, Lieutenant." I answered as politely as I could. That smile might work on all the other girls, but I wasn't here to wiped the smile off his face and nodded, seeming to understand quickly. Smart boy.

"Yeah, you're right. Alright, 13 is right up here. Hope you aren't superstitious," he told me with a more casual smile, and I allowed myself a wry smile.

"I'm a gypsy woman, Lieutenant. I'm very superstitious,"I replied, giving him a sardonic look before hefting my bag once more and turning to him. Thank you for showing me the way, but I think I can make it from here." I offered him my hand and he shook it with a firm grip.

"My pleasure, Ricci," he said, giving me one last grin. "Hopefully I'll see you around." And with that, he turned and began his walk back to the jeep. I watched him leave for a moment before spinning on my heel and looking at Barrack 13, adjusting my grip on my bag and reaching discreetly to touch my necklace where it dangled right at the top of my stomach on its long chain to ground myself. And with that, I stepped up to the barrack and inside.

Immediately, all eyes were on me and all conversation stopped. All the men who were looking at me blinked stupidly, and I saw one of them quickly smack the man beside him who wasn't paying attention, getting his attention and causing him to swing around and look at me with the same blank look.

"Anyone know where my bunk is?" I asked, tilting my head a little. Ten seconds and I was already exasperated with these men.

"Who are you?" A voice asked, sounding flirty, immediately followed by a much more harsh and blunt demand of "Who are you?"

I looked over at the two men sitting on a nearby bunk who had spoken and smiled patronizingly down at them.

"Private Aishe P. Ricci. I've been assigned to this barrack of this company of this battalion, so if you could point me to my bunk before I can die of old age and take the satisfaction from the Krauts that would be awesome," I said, working my jaw and trying not to grind my teeth. Mama always hated when I did that.

"No fuckin' way." The new voice had a thick accent I couldn't place, but I sighed and turned his way. He had shiny black hair, and when he stood up his underbite seemed to become more prominent somehow. No idea how that worked. "They let a fucking broad join the paratroopers? You do know we're jumpin' outta airplanes, right?" He asked, coming up towards me. Squaring my shoulders, I dropped my bag to the floor and stepped up to meet him balling my fists as my temper flared.

"I got a real clear idea of what I'll be doin' jackass, and if you got anything to say about it this broad'll punch you in the teeth so hard it'll make your underbite an overbite. Got me?" I snapped, not giving an inch as he moved to stand right in front of me. He glared at me for a moment and I matched him without a problem. And then he cracked a grin.

"Jesus Christ, girl afta me own heart," he laughed, swinging around to grin at the rest of the guys as he threw an arm over my shoulders. I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at him in confusion. What the fuck? "Come on, Ashy, your bunks right over 'ere next to mine," he was saying, dropping his arm from my shoulders to lead me over to where he had been sitting before. For a moment, I thought he was pulling my leg, but there was my regulation footlocker stamped with my name and all right at the foot of the next bed over. I sighed deeply but picked up my bag and made my way over.

"Aishe, jackass. Not Ash-y, Ay-she. If I'm gonna be stuck next to you, you might as well get it right," I told him, slinging my bag onto the flimsy mattress and thumping down next to it.

"Alright, fine. Aishe. Bill Guarnere," he offered, giving me his hand to shake. I took it but didn't return the grin.

"I think I'll stick with jackass. Suits you better," I told him and he grinned.

"Whatever you want, doll." He said and I glared at him again.

"Don't call me doll, jackass. I didn't get her by being pretty. You know my name and hopefully you're intelligent enough to use it." I told him and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Whateva." He said, picking back up the cards he'd dropped to walk over to me. "You play poker?"

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the four men he had been playing, and they all shrugged.

"Deal her in, Don," the one nearest me said with a wide smile. "Warren Muck. Call me Skip," he said, shaking my hand. "That's Don Malarkey as dealer." He gestured to the redhead to his left who nodded to me and handed me my cards. "That's George Luz," he pointed at the smiling man who had spoken to me first and was now grinning at me like a child, "and frowny over there is Joe Toye." The last man was the one who'd demanded my name upon my arrival. I raised an eyebrow as he continued to stare me down, but he finally sighed and looked back down at his cards.

"Whatever. She's still gotta throw in her ten to play," he grunted, but Luz jumped in before I could reply.

"I can cover her," he offered, grinning at me. I didn't return it as I fished my wallet out of my bag and threw a ten dollar bill into the pot on Guarnere's bunk. The boys all ooh'ed and laughed at Luz's slack-jawed expression.

"Better luck next time, Georgie," Guarnere laughed, but I shook my head.

"Maybe with another broad," I told him, cracking a grin as I fished a cigarette out of my pocket. "Anyone got a light?" Skip was the first to flick open a Zippo and held the flame steady for me to lean forward and light the cig. "Thanks, Skip. Now are we gonna play or are you guys gonna keep unsuccessfully trying to impress me?" I asked and they all grinned before Don started the game.

I wasn't expecting the men to accept me so quickly, and I could still feel a few people staring and glaring at my back, but I didn't need everyone to like me. Honestly, I didn't need any of them to like me, I only needed to get through training and this war.

"Bullshit. You're fucking cheating." I couldn't help but laugh as I took another drag from my third cigarette.

"No, Luz, you just suck at poker," I told him with a grin, but he was having none of it.

"No, I ain't. I was clearing these clowns out before you showed up. What gives?" His wide grin negated any possible hostility he could have had in his voice, which was barely possible in itself. He didn't seem the type to ever really get mad.

"Sweetheart, if I was cheating you'd never know it. I was raised a gypsy, I know my way around a deck of cards," I told him, smiling around the cigarette between my teeth.

"That's what it was," someone behind me said. I turned around to see a skinny kid stand up from a bunk across the room, stepping on his finished cigarette before walking over. "You're that gypsy that was on my bus from Frisco," he said, jabbing his finger at me. "That's why you look so familiar."

"Maybe I am, the hell's it to you?" I asked, squaring my jaw and shifting to face him.

"Hey, Ricci, just leave it," Muck said, smacking my arm lightly. "I'm sure Liebgott didn't mean anything by it. It's your turn anyway." I stared at the man for a beat longer before hugging and turning my back on him.

"Call," I grunted, throwing another two dollars into the pot.

" _Verdammter Zigeuner._ "

I was on my feet in two seconds flat, with so much force the bunk screeched back and Skip was jostled onto the floor.

" _Sag es mir ins Gesicht, Scheißkerl_ ," I spat, stepping up to him. For a moment, he seemed shocked I'd spoken in German, but he shook it off and went back to glaring at me.

" _Ich sagte, du bist ein gottverdammter Zigeuner, bist du auch taub_?" He snapped, practically snarling at me.

"I'll show you a goddamn gypsy, you little shit. Fuckin'-" I barked, lunging for him and he made a move to do the same, but two men suddenly tackled him to the ground and I was wrapped up in a headlock, someone much taller than me holding me from behind with one arm around my neck just tight enough to be uncomfortable and the other wrapped all the way around my waist to pin my arms to my sides.

"Put me down, you fucking-" I snarled, but the arm around my throat tightened and I choked.

"You really think it's a good idea to be getting into petty fights on your first day, girly?" The man asked, and I recognized the gravelly timber as Toye, the man who'd demanded my identity upon my entrance, the man who'd apparently been the man to beat me to the bus to Toccoa from the train. I tried to jerk out of his hold once before taking a deep breath and relaxing. I didn't like it, but he was right. I couldn't be getting into fights over things like that. People weren't going to like me, whether it was because I was a gypsy or because I was a woman. Slowly, Toye relaxed his grip on me and I shook myself away from him.

"Thanks," I mumbled to him, kicking my bunk back into place and plopped back down onto it. I gave Skip a half-hearted look of apology but he waved me off and handed me back my cards.

"I didn't look at 'em. Now, if you're done being a hot-head maybe we can get back to me winning back my money?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood. I shook my head and attempted a laugh.

"In your dreams, knucklehead," I said, nudging him in the ribs and leaning forward on my knees, ignoring the sounds behind me of whats-his-name arguing with the men who'd tackled him down as hard as I could. I gave Toye another grateful look as Skip threw him money in the pot and he just nodded to me with a small smile.

There might be men like beanpole back there, but there were good men here too.

* * *

 ** _Verdammter Zigeuner_ = Damn gypsy**

 ** _Sag es mir ins Gesicht, Scheißkerl_ = Say that to my face, fucker**

 ** _Ich sagte, du bist ein gottverdammter Zigeuner, bist du auch taub?_ = I said you're a goddamn gypsy, are you deaf too?**

*german has not been beta-ed, its only through google translate. I plan to have an actual German-speaker look it over later and I'll go back and fix it if its wrong when I do. Bear with me, I took Chinese in school.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm an awful person. I totally missed this Saturday's update and the holiday weekend should be no excuse. I was away from home and my computer, so I was unable to post and I'm so sorry. Here's the chapter I meant to post and I'll put up an extra long chapter this Saturday cause I feel super guilty.**

* * *

We ended the poker game with Luz and I up $300 combined and Guarnere and Skip a good $75 dollars in debt to me, each. Toye and Malark had quit while they were ahead, which was much smarter.

"I'll get my goddamn money back, I can promise you that," Skip was swearing as I laughed and counted my money in front of him.

"I'd like to see you try, Muck," I laughed, moving to stash the bills in my footlocker, which was thankfully just as it had been when I packed it.

"I still think you cheated," Luz said, stashing his own cash.

"Hey, you should be thanking me. I'm the reason you have that cash. You got what I gave you, I coulda just as easily cleaned you out. _If_ I cheated, it was in your favor," I told him and he scoffed, but didn't bother trying to argue anymore.

Just as I stood back up from putting the money away, the door to the barracks swung open and three men quickly stepped in.

"You will all stand at attention at the foot of your bunk!" The first man barked, and everyone scrambled to follow his order, but apparently not fast enough. "Come on, ladies, I don't have all day!" I clenched my jaw at the way he said 'ladies' as if it was a slur, but kept my mouth shut as I stood stiffly at the end of my bunk. I looked out of the corner of my eye at the man. He was tall, very tall, with greasy black hair and beady eyes. His uniform said he was a 1st Lieutenant and his name was Sobel, but his face said he was an asshole.

The two men behind him seemed much more agreeable, but that I couldn't be sure.

The one on the left, who's uniform clearly displayed he was 2nd Lieutenant Winters, had blazing red hair visible under his cap and deep set laugh lines that gave me hope that my time here wouldn't be total hell.

I couldn't get a clear look at the third man's uniform from where I stood without turning my head or trying to lean to look around the man in my way, but from what I could see he had dark hair and a smirk that had to be permanently carved into his face judging by its presence even in this serious situation.

"I am 1st Lieutenant Sobel and I will be your CO for the course of your training to be paratroopers. Behind me are 2nd Lieutenants Winters and Nixon. You have all been assigned to my company, E Company, otherwise known as Easy Company. But, do not for one second believe that your time here will be easy. I intend for this company to be the best in the entire 506th and I will not tolerate weakness, is that understood!" 1st Lieutenant Sobel barked, walking down the row of men, turning his head from left to right to survey us. As he passed me, he turned to look at the man across from me, the guy I'd had a spat with earlier named Liebgott, but I knew I wouldn't be as lucky for very long. Suddenly the Emperor coming. Up in my tarot spread made a lot of sense. This jackass hopped up on testosterone was in complete power and he was already drunk on it. I knew he was going to make my life a living hell the second he spotted me. I listened to him drone on about how he would make Easy the best of the best of the best and nothing would get in his way, that he would break each and every one of us to make us the perfect paratroopers and would not stop until he was satisfied.

But, his tirade was cut short when he turned on his heel al the end of the row and caught sight of me. Marching over with heavy bootfalls, he stopped directly in front of me. Keeping my eyes straight ahead, I was looking right at the knot of his tie. He was fucking tall.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded.

"Private Ricci, Aishe P., sir," I told him firmly, not moving an inch.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in my company, _woman_?" He spat. I made no move to wipe the spit from my face from when he had spoken and kept my anger at his use of the word woman like it was a disgrace internal.

"I've been assigned to E Company, Second Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment by Colonel Sink, sir," I told him, keeping my voice level and empty. The last thing I needed was to his him any more reason to hate me than he already did.

"We'll see about that," he said, his voice low and obviously a threat, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. I blinked once, and he continued on his way after a beat. He started up his rant once more, this time making an obvious point to address us as "men" as if I was not of importance or I wouldn't be there long enough for it to matter.

I'd show him. If there was one thing about me, it was that I never backed down from a challenged. I wasn't going to wash out. I was going to be one of the best damn paratroopers of the 101st if it killed me.

After what felt like hours, the 1st Lieutenant finally left with a last order that lunch was in an hour, we were expected at dinner at 1700, and we would be starting training tomorrow at dawn. The two other officers watched him leave but didn't follow. Instead, Nixon shut the door and they both relaxed from their stiff posture.

"At ease, gentlemen. Lady." 2nd Lieutenant Winters called, taking off his cap. At his recognition of me, a few eyebrows raised, including my own, but the men relaxed none the less. I relaxed my shoulders, but continued to stand with my hands clenched tightly at my sides. Turning my head, I was he'd as 2nd Lieutenant Winters walked down the line, much more slowly and casually than the 1st Lieutenant had.

"As the 1st Lieutenant said, my name is 2nd Lieutenant Richard Winters. That there is Lewis Nixon. I guess all I've got to say is I look forward to serving with you men. Hopefully everything will run smoothly," he said. He was eloquent, and the wry smile he had us showed he obviously didn't believe Sobel would allow our time here at Toccoa to be smooth in the slightest. When he reached me, he stopped and turned to face me. He was tall as well, but I looked up to meet his gaze and didn't feel as small in front of him as I did with the 1st Lieutenant.

"Private Ricci," he said, meeting my green eyes with his blue ones. He didn't seem hostile the way Sobel did.

"Lieutenant Winters," I responded respectfully, holding his gaze.

"I know it's not my place, but I apologize for the 1st Lieutenant's behavior, Private. We were briefed on your arrival and were ordered to treat you no differently than the men. He had no right to act in such a way," he said gently and I raised an eyebrow.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" I asked and he nodded.

"Granted," he replied.

"I didn't expect anything less, sir. I'm a woman in a man's world. To be honest, your treatment of me is what I find surprising. J expected to be flirted with, smacked around for my gender, and spit on for my heritage, and everything in between, but the last thing I expected was for one of my superior officers to treat me in any other way. I thank you for your kindness, sir, but I'll be fine. I'm a big girl, I didn't come all the way here from San Francisco to let the opinions of my CO, and even the men I will be serving with, stop me from being one of the best, sir," I told him firmly. He seemed shocked, but smiled.

"I'm glad to here it, Private," he said before moving on. I looked around at the men to see varying emotions ranging from disgusted to impressed, and both Toye and Guarnere were looking at me with what looked like pride for some reason. What suck out though, was the broad grin Lieutenant Nixon was giving me. I raised an eyebrow at him and he stopped, going back to the smirk I correctly assumed never left his face.

After another minute, they left together and we all went back to lounging around.

"So you're from California?" Guarnere asked as he thumped back down on his bunk. I nodded as I dug through my bag for my book.

"Yup. Always have. Three generations back on my mama's side and five or six back on my dad's. Ain't never lived anywhere else," I told him, finally getting my hand around my book in the depths of my bag.

"That's nice. Ya know, I hear it's real sunny out there," he said, and I nodded as I finally managed to wrestle my book out from under my cards and my tightly bundled jacket.

"Yeah, it's real sunny out in the Bay, but when it rains, it _rains_ ," I told him, sticking another cigarette in my mouth. After that Lieutenant, I needed it.

"Yeah, I bet. Me, I'm from Philly. South Philly," he told me, starting to go on and on about his city, his family, his girl named Frances, and more while I pretended to pay attention and cracked open my book. I listened as he spoke, nodding and speaking every so often to let him know I was still engaged, but most of my attention was in my book. 45 minutes until lunch. Hopefully army food had improved since the days of my father's horror stories.


	5. Chapter 5

**God, I love it when my wifi doesn't work. Sorry for the technical difficulties everybody.**

 **Also, I'm gonna change the every Saturday schedule to every other Saturday, because with sports and SATs and ACTs and concerts and grades in general, I don't have time to write entire chapters each week and keep up with it. Sorry, but I'll try to keep this new schedule as well as I can.**

* * *

At the top of the hour, we all cleared out of the barrack to head to the mess hall. Apparently everyone had lunch at the same time, because everyone seemed to be pouring out of the barracks at once. I kept my chin up, but wasn't subtle about keeping myself between Toye and Guarnere. As far as I could tell, they were nice guys and I'd gotten along with them so far.

Walking to the mess hall was strange. Everyone we passes seemed to give me a weird look, but it wasn't like I could expect anything else. Thankfully, lunch itself wasn't awful. I was handed a tray of something indistinguishable that had a smell that almost made me a retch and I sat down at a table with my new poker buddies. After a quick explanation and a few glares from myself and Bill, a few of the men introduced themselves with easy smiles. A few were standoffish and even looked at me hatefully, but it wasn't hard to ignore them. Two men, Talbert and Penkala, were especially cheerful and quick to accept me as a member of the company. Tab almost instant declared that we would be good friends whether I wanted it or not. I was grateful that they were so nice, but made it clear I wasn't there to mess around, in any fashion.

The first ten minutes went smooth as butter. After that? Not so much.

"Hey, I heard a rumor E Company was gettin' a broad. Wasn't crazy enough to think it was true," a voice from behind me said as I was finishing off my 'food'. A hand thumped down on my shoulder and the boys around me bristled. "I got some extra room on my bunk, dollface. Whaddya say?"

My hand tightened around the butter knife I'd been given as I worked my jaw and bit down on my tongue until I tasted metal to keep from grinding my teeth.

"I say that if you don't get your hand off me in the next two seconds, I'll cut it off and ship it back to your mother in a bag. Got that, _dollface?_ " I ground out, slowly turning to look up at the man who'd had the nerve to touch me. He was wearing a shit-eating grin, but it died on his face when he met my glare and realized I was serious. He quickly started to glare.

"Hey, bitch, what makes you think you have the right to speak to me like that?" He demanded. I quickly stood up and got in his face. He was only maybe an inch taller than me. Short.

"I don't know, what makes you think you have the right to talk to me like _that_? Huh, slick?" I shot back, but before anything else could happen, Joe got in between us.

"Alright, that's enough. You," he jabbed a finger at the boy, "treat a woman with respect and go sit down before you get hurt. And you," he turned to me, "cool it. Put the knife down and don't start gettin' in trouble on your first day, that's Bill's job," he said and Bill snorted. I just stared up at him for a moment before taking a deep breath and backing down, tossing the knife onto the table with a clatter.

"Woulda gutted that bastard like a fish," I spat and he shook his head.

"I know, and that ain't somethin' you wanna do. You're in the army now, so sit down and keep your mouth shut." Any other person, I would have throttled for speaking to me like that, but I could tell he wasn't being personal about it. It was the cold hard truth. With a huff, I thumped down back in my seat and looked around the table.

"What?" I demanded, and they all immediately stopped staring.

"Girl, you are either crazy or stupid," Guarnere said from beside me and I raised an eyebrow.

"What's the difference?" I asked him and he grinned.

"I don't know, but either way I might be fallin' in love with ya," he laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Eat your slop and keep your mushy feelings and shit to yourself," I told him and the guys around us laughed, although a little nervously. I could tell they were still giving me looks, but I ignored it.

I started learning to stand up for myself when I was really little. Especially with the older brothers that I had, in the neighborhood that I lived in.

The comfortable air returned quickly as everyone picked back up their conversations, but I could still feel someone watching me as I spoke with Tab about our Lieutenants and what he though of them. I turned from Tab for a moment and locked eyes with the scrawny man I'd tussled with early, who was watching me already. Liebgott, I think Muck called him. He frowned as I made eye contact and I cocked an eyebrow before turning back to Tab. If he wanted to hate me, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Not like it was gonna do anything.

The 1st Lieutenant came in a few minutes later to give us another lecture on how he wouldn't tolerate losers in his company - he made a point to look directly at me - and then told us we would be spending the rest of the day in instruction. Joy.

-–-

The lessons themselves weren't hard, they were just boring and tedious and I knew I'd be hearing the same thing for the rest of my stay in the army. Head and eyes straight ahead, feet at a forty-five degree angle, and cup your hands with you thumb pressed to the seam of your pants. And again and again and again. We must have marched across that field a hundred times, and it was made very clear very quickly that my legs were shorter than a lot of the men, although not all, which I thanked god for. After the zillionth time marching across the grass, I found myself missing the constant uphill walk home after work. Maybe it was more grueling than this monotony, but at least it was familiar and I knew when it was going to end.

By the time we finished, my legs were turning to putty and the arm that supported the weight of the rifle I'd been given was numb. Underneath his glare of disappointment and frustration, I could tell Lieutenant Sobel was taking sadistic pleasure in making us march so much. All the companies had started at the same time, but it was getting dark and all the other companies had gone back to their barracks at least an hour ago, if not more. I'd lost track of time.

We came to a halt at the end of the field once more and the 1st Lieutenant began another tangent about how we would keep marching until he was satisfied. I tried to flex my fingers and I could see my thumb shift out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn't feel it. My hand was clamped so hard on the gun to keep it from falling that blister my fingers and knuckles were pale. I could feel blisters forming in my ill-fitting boots, and my hair was pulled back so tightly into my helmet for so long that the pain had graduated from a dull throb up to a splitting headache and back to a dull throb across my skull that pulsed along with my heartbeat.

The man who stood to my right was visibly shaking without even turning my head to look at him. I hadn't been introduced to him, but a small part of me was pretty sure he wouldn't be here for long. All the men seemed tired. The shoulders of the man in front of me were slumped and the man next to him was unsuccessfully trying to hide how hard he was gasping for breath. The inside of my own lip was bloody from where I kept clamping my teeth into it to attempt to keep my face blank. I wasn't going to give the Lieutenant the satisfaction of seeing just how much I was struggling, even if I couldn't feel my limbs anymore. I was going to prove that man wrong if it killed me, which it just might judging from our first day.

We marched the length of the field three more times before the Lieutenant was finally satisfied and allowed us to go back to our barracks. At the word "dismissed," the boy beside me - I had to have at least 5 if not 6 years on him - collapsed to the ground. He didn't move. I looked down at him, a little worried, but was quickly pushed out of the way by two medics who picked him up and carried him off. Probably wouldn't see him again any time soon.

The walk back to the barrack seemed longer than it was the first time, and reaching up to unravel my hair seemed more strenuous than ever before, so when I finally made it to my bunk I thumped down on it face first and just laid there. A few more identical thumps came from around the barrack as others followed suit. Someone said something about showers, but I was already drifting in and out.

"Hey, Ricci. You gonna shower?" Guarnere asked from somewhere on my left. I had enough energy to scoff.

"Shower? With all you idiots? At the same time?" I asked sarcastically. "Even if I could feel my legs, I'd still say no." He murmured something of an agreement and Toye hollered something at me about at least wanting to take my boots off, but I just grunted and passed out.

-–-

I woke up to someone poking and prodding me. It was almost second nature to turn over and grab the offending hand, twisting the thumb until the person fell to their knees just like I used to do to my brothers. I cracked one eye open to see Guarnere kneeling beside my bed, twisted trying to relieve the pain of the hold I had him in.

"Can I help you?" I rasped, my voice rough from sleep.

"You could let go o' me fucking hand," he grunted and I complied before sitting up with a groan. Looking around, I couldn't even see sunlight coming through the windows. All the other men were slowly starting to drag themselves out of their own beds.

"There a reason you had to wake me up at this ungodly hour?" I asked him and he shook his head.

"Sobel came in a minute ago to tell us we all need to be up and at mess in five minutes, but you sleep like the dead, woman," he told me and I shrugged. I looked down at my clothes, which were rumpled but not awful, and my boots were still on from the night before, so I stood, grimacing at the dull ache in my legs but trying to push through it. It wasn't more than the ache after I would try to run my cousin's track workouts with him. As I made my way to the door, I untangled my hair from the rats nest it had become overnight and forced it into a tight bun. It was still tangled at the ends, but as long as the top was smooth and it was out of the way, I was sure no one would notice.

The mess hall was a good walk, so I started on my way even as I was wrestling with my hair. I heard pounding footsteps from behind me and turned to see Talbert jogging to catch up. I paused and waited for him to reach me, giving him a small nod in response to his bright grin.

"Mind if I walk with you?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. I shrugged.

"Be my guest," I replied, and we started on our way to the mess hall in silence. I hoped today I'd be able to eat in peace without having to threaten another private, but I wasn't so lucky. In fact, I wasn't even in the mess hall yet when an idiot decided to start barrack door was thrown open and a man walked out, straight into our path.

"Excuse me." Tab was polite, but the man didn't move out of the way, he only turned to us and then his mouth split in a shit-eating grin.

"You must be the E Company broad everyone's talking about!" He said excitedly, but I could tell it wasn't a compliment. "I knew you'd be easy, but I didn't think they'd slap it on you as a title." And there it was. I clamped my jaw as Tab took a step forward to confront the guy, but I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back. He gave me a look of surprise, but I shook my head.

"Easy Tab," I said quietly. I didn't want him getting into something on my account.

"Oh, so you've already started sleeping around," the man said, grinning like he was having the time of his life. I clenched my hands for a moment before releasing them and looking down the path, half hoping to find Toye or Guarnere on their way over to stop me from doing something stupid, but no such luck.

"We're expected at mess in a minute, so if you could move that would be great," I told him flatly, keeping my expression in check.

"Hold on, I wanna know how much you charge by the hour," he said with a smirk before turning to Tab. "Was she any good?"

I saw red.

-–-

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you out of the paratroopers right this second."

"No excuse, sir," I said flatly. Tab, Guarnere, and I stood in front of Colonel Sink, bruised and probably bleeding on the floor. Of course, the two men at my side had different views.

"He called Ricci a whore, sir."

"He called her a wop, sir."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose to calm myself. The last thin I wanted was the men getting in trouble on my account. Sink seemed just as annoyed. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, glaring at us.

"Now I can understand you boys thinking its important to defend a woman's honor, but you can't just go around throwing punches because of it," he said, but Guarnere spoke up.

"That wasn't why I jumped in, sir. I could care less that Aish- I mean Private Ricci is a woman. I jumped in because he started calling her a wop. As a fellow _wop_ , I felt obligated to get involved. You can understand why I'm not a fan of the word." He said firmly.

"I didn't get involved to protect her honor, sir. He called her a whore, but she could have handled it herself. His comment started the altercation, but when his friend jumped in to join the fight, I wasn't going to let my friend be outnumbered. It wasn't a fair fight and I wasn't going to watch a member of my company get beaten int the dirt. Sir." Tab said quickly, before Sink could say anything to Bill. Sink was quiet for a moment before turning to me.

"What about you, Ricci? What do you have to say?" He asked me and I met his eyes blankly.

"The altercation became physical because of me. Neither Talbert or Guarnere are to blame, it was all me. They just jumped in to defend me because I was in over my head. I deserve whatever punishment you deem fit," I said stiffly and he raised an eyebrow.

"And if I decide that you deserve to be thrown in the cell that already has your name on it? This could be grounds to throw you out of the Airborne," he said, cocking his head and waiting for my reaction. Everything inside me was screaming, but I knew how to keep my face blank from all the times the police chief had asked where Nicolai was.

"If you feel that is what I deserve, sir. I agreed to join the Airborne on the condition that I would trade it for a jail cell if I couldn't hack it and I stand by that. I was raised in a family where your word was your bond," I told him flatly, ignoring the way Tab and Bill whipped their heads to look at me. Apparently they weren't aware of the arrangement. Sink sighed again and looked down for a moment before seeming to come to a decision.

"Talbert, Guarnere, you'll be given latrine duty for a week. Ricci, you'll spend the night in the cell and then you will join them. Maybe seeing it will keep you out of it in the long run." I breathed a sign of relief but nodded.

"Yes, sir," we all said and he frowned again.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't do it again. Ego ain't a reason to get the boot. Now get the fuck out," Colonel Sink said, waving us out. We snapped a salute and he returned it before barking at us to scram, which we did quickly. I thought that was the end of it, but the second we got outside, the two men whirled on me.

"What did he mean cell with your name on it?" Tab asked me quickly.

"Fuck that, what did you mean when you said you'd go to jail if you couldn't hack it? You drop out of Airborne and you get sent to the Armored or something, not jail," Guarnere said, looking confused. I just shook my head and pushed between them to get back to the barracks. We's already missed breakfast, and we'd be late to PT if we didn't hurry, and I told them just that.

"Fuck PT, Aishe. Spill," Guarnere demanded, catching me by the arm. I sighed but didn't turn to look at either of them.

"The condition of me joining the military to serve my country was that I would be placed in the most rigorous training and if I gave up or got kicked out I would go to jail for twelve years or until the war is over. Whichever's longer." I told them before jerking out of his grip and continuing on my way to the barracks to change into my gear.

-–-

Sobel rode us hard. We learned the obstacle course, which was awful even without the Lieutenant's constant yelling about us being pathetic. He was absolutely focused on me, especially when I scrapped myself on the barbed wire, but shut up quick when I was the third over the wall after Winters and Toye. Apparently years of vaulting over fences to run from cops can be useful experience. I blame my brother for the experiences, but was also silently thanking him for preparing me for this hell, even if unintentionally.

But then we were introduced to Currahee, the mountain that loomed over Camp Toccoa, and the goddamn evil trail that winded all the way from its base to the top. My entire body hurt from the marching from the previous day, and I found myself slipping back into my old habit of staring at my feet and counting my steps in sets of 1, 2, 3, 4, to lose myself in the rhythm and block out the pain. I only snapped out of it when the feet of the man in front of me disappeared and my head snapped up to see the path narrowing and the men spreading out. I could see Winters at the front and Sobel waiting at the top that was barely in sight.

Gritting my teeth, I tapped into all the energy I had left and all the pent up rage I had left from the looks and the comments and the depreciation that hadn't stopped since I'd arrived at Toccoa to force myself faster and forward. I was breathing hard and my lungs and muscles were screaming, but I gave it all I had. I passed Muck and Don, and then Luz, and that bastard Liebgott. I caught the surprised look on his face when he saw me coming up and the way he tried to push on to keep ahead, but that only pushed me further. I would show that fucker. I huffed as I forced myself past him, my entire mind focused on the back of the man ahead of me, hellbent on passing him even though I knew I wouldn't be able to.

I vaguely heard Winters shouting at me as I passed him near the top where he'd stopped, but everything seemed muffled under the ragged sound of my own breathing in my ears. I slapped the stone pillar at the top just like I'd been instructed before the run and turned around to head back down, skidding a little but keeping my feet somehow. I didn't look at Sobel. I didn't want to see his face. I was just proud of my own performance, but I knew I'd have to do it again and again.

By the time I made it to the bottom of the mountain, I was somewhere in the middle of the pack as opposed to the back during the march and closer to the front during the sprint. At the bottom, the second I reached the men standing there waiting for the rest of us, I collapsed to the ground and rolled over onto my back. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply and tried to keep my stomach down. At least missing breakfast has the perk of not having anything in you to throw up.

"You okay there, Private?" A voice asked and I cracked an eye open to see who had spoken, but I couldn't see them clearly because of the sun behind them.

"Do I look okay?" I grunted, squinting up at the person. "Sir." I tacked on when the person finally came into focus as Lieutenant Nixon. He was grinning at me.

"No, I guess not. But you looked pretty damn good that last bit of uphill, I gotta say," he said with that smirk he always had. I frowned a little as I looked up at him.

"Is that a compliment or are you hitting on me, sir? Because I have no interest in pursuing anything but professional relationships here," I told him and he barked a laugh.

"Just take it as a compliment then, Private. Here, can you feel your legs after that?" He asked me, offering me a hand. I took it and let him help me up off the round, stumbling a little but regaining my feet without the help of the arm he offered to steady me.

"I'll be fine. My cousin's track coach always used to say if you weren't heaving or passing out you had more to give and I guess I took it a little seriously," I told him, spreading my feet a little wider than shoulder width to help me keep my balance. He nodded a little.

"I could see that. I'll admit, that was impressive. Think you can keep it up?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow.

"Think I can't, sir?" I shot back, finally beginning to catch my breath. He huffed a laugh and shook his head.

"I like you, Private. You got fire." He looked over to where Sobel was finally on his way over. "You're gonna need it." And with that, he walked away, just in time to step up to the 1st Lieutenant's side as he began his tangent about us having to be better than that if we wanted to be paratroopers. I wanted to groan and roll my eyes, but restrained myself. I didn't need to get in trouble twice in one day.

-–-

"Private Ricci!" A voice called from behind me. I cut off from talking to Tab to turn around and frowned a little at what I saw.

"Lieutenant Coppola?" I asked, cocking my head. He smiled a little at me as he approached. "Can I help you, sir?" I continued.

"I'm here to take you to your ... lodgings for the night," he said awkwardly, his eyes flickering over to Tab. He probably thought he didn't know. I smiled a little at how he was keeping my situation discreet.

"Sure, Lieutenant. I'll see ya in the morning, Tab," I said, turning to tab who frowned but nodded.

"Alright, see ya in the morning. What should I tell the guys?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Exactly what happened. I'm not ashamed of it," I told him before nodding to the Lieutenant to lead the way.

"I'll admit, I didn't expect for us to meet again like this," the Lieutenant said after a moment and I smiled softly.

"Neither did I, sir. I hoped I'd be able to keep my temper for at least my first few weeks," I said, on the edge of a scoff.

"Hey, Ricci," someone said from nearby and I looked over to see Lieutenant Nixon walking over, waving. I waved back awkwardly.

"Hello, sir," I replied, stopping to salute him. He returned it and nodded a greeting to the Lieutenant, then went back to smiling easily.

"Where you going with Coppola? Barracks are that way," he said, cocking his head with a look in his eyes that told me he probably knew the answer.

"I won't be staying in the barracks tonight, sir. I'm to spend the night in a cell as punishment for the altercation I was involved in this morning and return to the barracks tomorrow," I told him stiffly, wondering what he was playing at. He was my superior officer, he would have been briefed about this.

"Right, of course. I was briefed about that this morning," he said, nodding. He turned to Coppola with a smile. "I can take her from here, Steve. She's in my unit, and I'm not doing anything besides," he offered. The other Lieutenant hesitated and looked to me to see if I was comfortable with that, which I though was kind of sweet, before nodding.

"Sure, Nix. You know where?" He asked and Lieutenant Nixon nodded.

"Don't you worry, the Private's in good hands," he said dismissively and Coppola nodded once more before going on his way.

I walked with the Lieutenant for a minute in silence, stealing looks at him out of the corner of my eye but otherwise keeping my gaze forward. If either of us was going to break the silence I would let it be him, and after a moment he did.

"Go ahead, ask," he said dismissively, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. I hesitated before decided to go ahead anyway.

"Why did you offer to walk me to my cell, sir, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked him quietly as he lit his smoke. He offered me one, which I accepted, before responding.

"Because I don't know you, Ricci. It isn't often that I don't know things," he said as he held out the lighter for me to light the fag. I nodded a little as I took a drag.

"Alright, I'll bite, sir," I said with a smile. "Anything in particular you wanna know?"


End file.
